I really hate to "bite the hand that feeds me", but I'm really pissed.

Yesterday, I finally had the chance to take advantage of my pass by watching some movies...or so I thought. I went onto your website to jot down what was playing, time, location, and the titles that I'd actually be interested in watching.

There's a 'R' on my pass which, to my knowledge, means that I can only get into screenings, either Public or P&I, from the Rush Line. I adhered to this rule by getting into that line and asking the FOHA whether or not there was space for me. There was only a few people in-line and my film was gonna start in 5 minutes.

The FOHA spoke to someone over her headset and I was told to go to the Box Office. All normal procedure up 'til this point.

Once I reached the Box Office, I was told that I would have to PAY to watch the film. $PAY$. In the 10 years that I've worked there, I have NEVER PAID to watch any films. And please note that the theatre was fuckin' empty...EMPTY. There were no crowds, lines, it was Day 7 of the Festival.

I don't think I would've felt as humiliated/offended/frustrated if it weren't for the fact that I had gotten into a film, for FREE, the night prior, from the Rush Line, at another theatre. My anger stemmed more from the fact that the rules seemed completely inconsistent.

I realise "rules are rules", but c'mon...Day 7, everyone had already made an exodus from Toronto (2-3 days ago!), it was a complete Ghost Town.

Instead of making a scene at the theatre by asking to speak to the "Manager", I just crumpled up my list of films that I wanted to see and decided to seek some retail therapy! That too did not help as Fall '09 trends, as per the mall, were less than inspiring.